AuthorTopic: Hello & questions (Read 7363 times)

Not very computer literate sorry. Never used anything but Windows. Would like to try some version of Vector Linux. Don't know what version. Maybe someone could suggest.

My PC is Pentium II 350 Mhz, 256Mb of RAM, (motherboard is MSI-6119). It's nearly ten years old. Several NTFS partitions, OS and programs in C: data in the rest.

I need to browse WWW, use MS WMP, use MS Office, (that I have disk for), use Adobe Acrobat Reader. I'm very used to MS Outlook Express and would like to keep it, and would like to use Avanti as my browser.

What I like about Windows XP are all those columns of data (metadata?) associated with files (type, size, title, owner, auther etc).

If I install a version of Vector Linux I suppose I'll be able to install all my other programs? (Audacity, WinZip, Acronis True Image, Partition Magic, Norton systemWorks, LinkStash, NuMorsePro etc).

So, I'll be okay if I install some version of Vector Linux on my PC? TIA.

If I install a version of Vector Linux I suppose I'll be able to install all my other programs? (Audacity, WinZip, Acronis True Image, Partition Magic, Norton systemWorks, LinkStash, NuMorsePro etc).

NO. Linux is not a free Windows compatible operating system. Some of these programs might work with wine, but then again they might not (except for audacity, there's a Linux version of that, and it's pretty easy to install). There might also be Linux alternatives for some of the programs you're using, like the gparted livecd instead of partition magic.

Browsing the web is easy, we have enough browsers. I don't think there's a Linux version of Avanti though (it's pretty hard to find info about it).

To open MS Office files Open Office usually works fine, though perhaps the processor in that computer is a little slow for that. The info about files is also available in Linux file tools.

Hope this helps a little.

[edit]I suppose you meant the avant browser? Apparently, it needs Internet Explorer to be installed. Apparently you can get both to work with wine though, with some minor caveats. To see if your programs work with wine, look here: http://appdb.winehq.org/ .[/edit]

If you insist on using Microsoft software (like Outlook) then Linux isn't for you, period. There are some tools which allow current (not ancient) Microsoft software to run in a Linux partition with Windows also installed somewhere. Your computer has nowhere near the horsepower for that.

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, compared changing operating systems to performing brain surgery on yourself. You have to be willing to jettison your accustomed ways of using a computer. It doesn't sound like you are willing to do that. If you said "I need software that works like Internet Explorer", sure, we have that. We don't have Internet Explorer or Outlook or anything else Microsoft and never will.

If and when you're willing to wipe your existing system (backup the data first, of course) and start over in every sense of starting over then please come back and talk to us. If not, well.... sorry, maybe, to be honest, Linux really isn't for you.

If you insist on using Microsoft software (like Outlook) then Linus isn't for you, period. There are some tools which allow current (not ancient) Microsoft software to run in a Linux partition with Windows also installed somewhere. Your computer has nowhere near the horsepower for that.

Linus Torvalds, the creator of Linux, compared changing operating systems to performing brain surgery on yourself. You have to be willing to jettison your accustomed ways of using a computer. It doesn't sound like you are willing to do that. If you said "I need software that works like Internet Explorer", sure, we have that. We don't have Internet Explorer or Outlook or anything else Microsoft and never will.

If and when you're willing to wipe your existing system (backup the data first, of course) and start over in every sense of starting over then please come back and talk to us. If not, well.... sorry, maybe, to be honest, Linux really isn't for you.

All the best.

I don't agree, cait. I use both windows and linux (VL) at home - different boxes - and I like both. Windows does what I want it to do as does linux - of course, I have different needs for each but the point being that they both work. I think that rather than saying "nope, linux ain't for you" it would be better to say something like "you don't need all that stuff in linux - why not give it a shot. You gotta start sometime and we're certainly some of the most friendly people to help you."

Audacity = works on linux. Winzip = linux has an equivilant. Partition Magic = linux has an equivilant. True Image = linux has something similar. Systemworks = probably several tools put together would get you close but really it's not needed. WMP = you should try VLC and/or XMMS(2). WWW = got ya covered. MSOffice = OpenOffice.org or MSOffice2k under wine. Acrobat Reader = works on linux.

I think that what you'll find is that everything you've mentioned has it's equal in linux - but some of the stuff probably just isn't needed.

You could install some stuiff that works on both, linux and windows to take a look and see if you like it. Like firefox, seamonkey, opera, thunderbird, open office, and more... Take a look to 7-zip, you will never use winzip anymore...

Logged

"There is a concept which corrupts and upsets all others. I refer not to Evil, whose limited realm is that of ethics; I refer to the infinite."Jorge Luis Borges, Avatars of the Tortoise. --Jumalauta!!

If and when you're willing to wipe your existing system (backup the data first, of course) and start over in every sense of starting over then please come back and talk to us. If not, well.... sorry, maybe, to be honest, Linux really isn't for you.

Nobody needs to be willing to wipe their existing system and start over in every sense. All they have to do is resize a partition to make enough room for Linux and set up a dual boot. Works great and people can ease their way into Linux at whatever pace they wish.

See, this isn't a religious conversion. It's a decision to try another operating system and see if it meets one's needs. It's never necessary to go all the way to one or the other. Gradually people may find that they are spending more and more time in Linux and less and less in Windows.--GrannyGeek

Not very computer literate sorry. Never used anything but Windows. Would like to try some version of Vector Linux. Don't know what version. Maybe someone could suggest.

VectorLinux 5.8 Standard Gold should work nicely on your computer. Are you running XP on it? I shudder to think of it, because your computer really is not up to the minimum standards needed for making XP a tolerable system to use. VectorLinux should be faster and smoother and much more pleasant all around for a computer with your specs.

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I need to browse WWW, use MS WMP, use MS Office, (that I have disk for), use Adobe Acrobat Reader. I'm very used to MS Outlook Express and would like to keep it, and would like to use Avanti as my browser.

You seem to have gotten the impression that you can run the same programs on Linux as you do on Windows. That is not the case. Only Linux programs run on Linux. You can use a program called Wine that creates an environment in which *some* Windows programs run, but many programs cannot run successfully, or at all, under Wine. The Wine Web site has lists of programs that people are running under Wine with more or less success, but ultimately you won't know until you try.

For the types of things you want to do, Linux has good alternatives. We have many browsers, including Firefox, SeaMonkey, and Opera, that are almost identical to their Windows versions. We have media players that can run most media formats (including some Windows Media formats). We have OpenOffice.org that also has a Windows version and OOo can open and save most MS Office documents successfully. Adobe Reader has a Linux version, and there are also Linux readers for PDF files that open much faster than Adobe Reader. We have good e-mail programs like Thunderbird and Opera's e-mail client that you would have no trouble getting used to. There is a nice program called Sylpheed that is easy to use and not that different from Outlook Express.

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If I install a version of Vector Linux I suppose I'll be able to install all my other programs? (Audacity, WinZip, Acronis True Image, Partition Magic, Norton systemWorks, LinkStash, NuMorsePro etc).

No, you won't. They are Windows programs. They need Windows in order to run. However, there are nice Linux programs that do the same things. Audacity has a Linux version. Linux handles Zip files just fine. Linux has its own ways to make image files (and can make an image of Windows partitions that are on the same disk). GParted does what Partition Magic does. You don't need SystemWorks (you don't need it in Windows, either, as it is burdensome on the system and there are lighter-weight antivirus programs). I'm not familiar with LinkStash or NuMorsePro.

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So, I'll be okay if I install some version of Vector Linux on my PC? TIA.

Not if you want to run Windows programs. But if you're willing to try something different that many think is something better, give VectorLinux a try. I think it's *WAY* more fun to use than Windows.--GrannyGeek

If you decide to install Vector Linux, welcome to the community. Other people have already said various things about what you can do with Linux and various programs (applications) that run on Linux, so I won't add anything to that.

I would like to say that Vector isn't only a great version of Linux, it's also a great community. You can get all kinds of help in these formus, with everything from installation to what software is good for a certain task to how to fix various problems. This is, by far, the best computer help forum that I've ever used, and that's because all kinds of people pitch in and help out.

I hope you decide to give VL a try; you'll need to learn some things if you do, but I think you'll find it's worth it.

Tom

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"I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." - Linus Torvalds, April 1991

Thanks for the input. I've learned a lot. My questions did reflect what I was wondering about about when it comes to changing operating systems. I'm now more savvy on what the deal is. I am BTW running Windows XP Professional on my setup and I do think something less demanding on my PC ought to be tried.

Things are not quite as bad as they might seem. What I mean is that I have removeable HHDs and I was going to put another OS on another HDD. I want to set up a business and have a completely different HDD for that. What I will probably do is buy some version of Vector Linux.

Browsing: Probably no problem. I'll just get used to Firefox or whatever.

Media: Again, no real problem. Just get used to another program.

Word files and Powerpoint files: Not a problem if some program (Open Office?) can open these, which I think is the case.

Acrobat Reader: No problem, works on Linux.

Email: Not a problem IF a program will handle MS OE DBX files. I mean, I'd want to transfer my existing business emails that I have already, to the new HDD that will have Vector Linux on it and the new email program. Can anyone comment about this?

Other programs: There are alternatives. And besides they will still be used on my other "Windows" HDD.

Looks like VectorLinux 5.8 Standard Gold or if I really really cannot let go of MS (which I think I can, because everything new is on another HDD) - Wine.

There's a How-To import account settings, contacts, and emails from Outlook Express to Mozilla Thunderbird (and Evolution) here: http://www.howtoforge.com/importing_outlook_express_into_thunderbird_evolution. It looks like you need to install Thunderbird in Windows first, convert OE stuff to Thunderbird there (in Windows that is) and then transfer the converted folders to Thunderbird in Linux. Overall it seems pretty straightforward.

You might also find that Firefox is a better browsing experience than IE. Firefox is much more customizable than IE, and also I've been told that Firefox is more secure in Windows since it's not integrated into the operating system the way IE is.

I've had an excellent experience with Open Office opening Word documents that people send me. I don't know how well it does with PP presentations, since I don't deal with them often.

I would also add that for me the overall multimedia experience has been better in Linux than in Windows, since MPlayer will play just about anything you throw at it (as long as you have the codec), whereas in Windows you need WMP, Quicktime, and RealPlayer, which then fight with each other over file associations. Also, in Windows the Quicktime player claims squatter's rights in your system tray everytime you use it, and then you have to shut that down every time. I don't know of anything that does that in Linux (but I don't know everything).

Logged

"I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." - Linus Torvalds, April 1991

And what is GSlapt I hear you asking? Its the graphical interface for the package management system in VectorLinux. You can use it to remove software, connect to our software repositories and install new apps and updates.

Yes, that's right, free of charge and free as in freedom (thought that's another whole story), not free as in free to try for a month and then it stops working, or free but only partly functional and you have to pay for full functionality, or free but it keeps nagging you to buy other software, or free because it's bootlegged and then posted on some website that gives you hundreds of porn popups, just plain free.

Free because a lot of people, such as easuter, The Headacher, GrannyGeek, caitltyn, Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, and at least tens of thousands of others have given a lot of time and effort to all of these various projects.

And it works better too.

Logged

"I'm doing a (free) operating system (just a hobby, won't be big and professional like gnu) for 386(486) AT clones." - Linus Torvalds, April 1991

Just purchased Vector Linux 5.8 gold Deluxe 2 CD set. Unless someone says otherwise, that I think is the best one considering my modest system and the fact that I'm not into games and stuff, and don't play DVDs on on my PC. Mostly I need to make and read documents.Thanks for all the assistance. Meetoo (Richard)

Email: Not a problem IF a program will handle MS OE DBX files. I mean, I'd want to transfer my existing business emails that I have already, to the new HDD that will have Vector Linux on it and the new email program. Can anyone comment about this?

Besides Thunderbird, both Opera and SeaMonkey can import Outlook Express messages into their e-mail clients. However, it seems you need to install SeaMonkey or Opera in Windows first and import the e-mails in Windows. Then those message files can be used in Linux.

I'm not familiar with SeaMonkey's e-mail client, but I've used Opera for e-mail for many years. I have both Windows and Linux on my systems and I use the exact same e-mail files in both Windows and Linux. The files live in my Opera directory on Windows and I use a symlink from Linux Opera to the Windows e-mail directory. That way my e-mail files are always in sync whether I'm using Linux or Windows. To transfer the e-mail files to another computer I can simply copy them over my network to the other computer. I also have Linux symlinks to my Windows Opera address book, notes file, and bookmarks (if I want).

It's very easy to set up and works fabulously well.

As for MS Office documents, OpenOffice is the most likely candidate. However, it likes memory and computer power. I do very little with spreadsheets so I don't know much about XLS files on Linux. I have more experience with word processing, though I am a home user and don't often need to open a DOC file. AbiWord is a much less demanding word processor and can open many DOC files acceptably. AbiWord is not as full-featured as OpenOffice Writer, MS Word, and some other word processors. Many people don't need all those features, though, and AbiWord is fine for the basics.

Another office suite that is supposed to be highly compatible with MS Office documents is SoftMaker's SoftMaker Office ( http://www.softmaker.com/english/ofl_en.htm ). It's not free and open source; you have to pay for it (it's much less expensive than MS Office--$70 or 70 Euros for the Linux version and $100 or 100 Euros for the Linux AND Windows versions.). It is much more full-featured than AbiWord and much less demanding on memory and system resources than OpenOffice. There are free trial versions so you can make sure you like TextMaker and PlanMaker (spreadsheet) and they'll do the job before you buy.--GrannyGeek